In the article 10 Crazy Medtech Ideas That Could Disrupt Medicine, on Qmed.com, WPI Prof. Fischer’s MRI guided robot is listed at #4.
Researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute have received a $3-million NIH grant to study a minimally invasive method of destroying brain tumors while preserving healthy tissue surrounding them. Led by professor Gregory Fischer, PhD, the technology couples a robot designed to be used within an MRI scanner and an ultrasound probe that can deliver interstitial high-intensity focused ultrasound at the tumor, heating only malignant tissue—even in deep-seated irregularly shaped tumors.
The tumor can be pinpointed using real-time MRI data. Such real-time imagery is invaluable, Fischer says. “Once a hole is made in the skull, for example, the brain may swell and shift, and even images acquired just prior to the surgery will no longer be accurate,” he said in a press release. “Live images enable real-time control and a high degree of accuracy.”
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